Pray for Us

I have some cute baby pictures I'll put up soon, but right now I'm still a little sick at heart and I want to ask you to talk to the Lord for me.

The Husband and I have been attending the same church since we moved here.  It's not a perfect church--nowhere is--but the folks are friendly and they generally preach the truth.  Last month a situation came up regarding a person who appeared one day asking for membership in the congregation.  Without saying anything that might open me to legal liability, let's just say that this person is not safe to be in a congregation that includes, among others, women and young children.

So last night the Husband and I attended the business meeting that was called to determine this person's admission into membership.  The Husband tends to get a little abrasive when he's arguing (he did well in Speech and Debate), so when it got to the part of the meeting where this membership question was addressed, he came and got the kids from me in the nursery and sent me in to represent the family in the meeting.  (We'd already discussed this and agreed to do it that way, although now he feels he should have figured out a way to be with me .)

I was shocked that the Husband and I were the only ones in that meeting who felt we shouldn't offer immediate membership--in good standing!--to this person.  I stood up and said my piece, and of course because I was nervous and upset my voice trembled and I got teary.  (It's incredibly aggravating to get teary when you're angry, teary when you're nervous, teary when your sad, teary when you're happy.... sigh.)  I stated my objections as clearly as I could--and they were really pretty obvious objections, things like "have we spoken to this person's parole officer?"  (Answer: "uh, no, we meant to do that...") and "has anyone noticed that the details given about this person's conviction and sentence don't match the details on the offender registry on the computer"?  (Answer: "uh, maybe the state made a mistake?")

In the end I had to come right out and say that the Husband and I can't continue to attend if this person is in membership--we have no right to endanger our children that way.  I was so surprised when the response to this was a lecture, mostly on the part of older men with grown children, about how I was being unloving, unbiblical, and dare I say, unchristian.

I've never felt like a feminist before in my life.  I've never felt oppressed--not at school, not at work, and not in the church, but last night I am almost certain I was dismissed because I'm a young female.

At least my words seemed to shock the congregation enough that the issue hasn't been decided (although a test vote was taken--the Husband and I were the only two "no" votes).  We've been asked as a church to spend two weeks in fasting and prayer about this.  Because we want to do our duty, the Husband and I are going to stick out these two weeks, but they are going to suck.  So pray for us, and pray for the church.  Pretty much unless God does a miracle and either removes this person or changes the minds of the congregation, the Husband and I and our babies will be seeking a new church home.  We are sick at heart about this.  We like our congregation and it's been our church home for two years.  It's weighing heavily on both of us.

So pray for us, would you?

Hard?

Breanna